Machine for manufacturing insulating-boards from fibrous material.



A. G. BROWN.

MACHINE FOR MANUFACTURING INSULATING BOARDS mom FIBROUS MATERIAL.

APPLICATIO N -FILED IAN- 5. I911. RENEWED JULY 5' HHS.

Patented Aug. 31, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

. A. GfBROWN. MACHINE FOR MANUFACTURING INSULATING BOARDS FROM FIBROUS MATERIAL.

RENEWED JULY 6, 1915.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 5. lsnI UNITED srATEs PATENI orrrcn.

ALFRED BROWN, 01 WINONA, MINNESOTA, ASSIGNOB '10 UNION FIBRE COMPANY, OF WINONA, MINNESOTA, A CORPORATION OF MINNESOTA.

MACHINE FOR MANUFACTURING INSULATING-BOARDS FROM FIBROUS MATERIAL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 31,1915.

Application filed January 5, 1911, Serial No. 600,876. Renewed July 6, 1915. Serial No. 38,262.

- To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED G. BRowN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Winona, in the county of Winona and State of Minnesota, have-invented certain new and useful Improvements in -Machines for Manufacturing Insulating Boards Fibrous Materials, and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description ofthe same, reference, being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and to the figures and letters of reference marked thereon.

This invention relates to machines adapted for the manufacture of coherent self-sustaining heat insulating boards from fibrous material, the fibers being entangled with each. other and holding certain comminuted portions of the shives and wood-like material found in the plants from which the fiber is derived.

In the manufacture of boards of the character referred to, the materials from which the board is to be formed are reduced to the desired condition while wet or containing a large excess of moisture in the form of a free liquid which may be squeezed out or drained away.

In accordance with the present invention, the material in a wet mass, susceptible of being passed through chutes or ducts by gravity or pressure, is supplied to traveling forms, and while in the forms, subjected to mechanical treatment which will thoroughly distribute the same and cause the fibers to become intertangled. The moisture is removed, and as a final step before the com lete, drying of the mass, the upper portion is subjected to the action of a cutter whereby the surface is properly formed and the material remaining in the forms is reduced to a uniform thickness.

In the accompanying drawings,Figure 1 is a diagrammatic sectional elevation showing a machine embodying the present improvement; Fig. 2 is a view corresponding to Fig. 1, but showing a portion of the right hand end only of the machine on an enlarged scale; Fig. 3 is a similar View showing the cutter and pressure cylinder immediately preceding the cutter; Flg. 4 1s a sectional elevationof the primary pressure or squeezing cylinder; Figs. 5 and 5 are details of the first tamper; Figs. 6 and 6 are corresponding details of the second tamper; and

from

The machine illustrated, embodies a relat1vely long framing A, the particular constructlon of which is immaterial if built to embody longitudinal ways upon which a succession of forms may be made to travel. As illustrated, the ways in the framing are formed by a series of rollers 13 journaled in the frame and adapted to receive the bot tom rails of a succession of forms C. The forms C are placed in position at the right hand end of the frame and are caused to travel in succession toward the left hand end, where they may be run into a drier or removed for subsequent treatment of the boards as will presently appear. For feeding or propelling the forms along the frame, a feeding mechanism embodying a belt D running over pulleys (Z and having project1ons d thereon may be conveniently employed. The projections (Z are spaced apart, a distance corresponding to the length of one of the forms C, and the forwardly moving reach of the belt runs parallel with the ways which support the forms. Obviously the feeding belt may be relatively short, inasmuch as when each form is fed intoposition it will advance all of the forms which precede it, and for this reason the end faces of the forms are preferably made substantially flat to avoid any danger of a form being lifted off of the ways by pressure applied at the rear end.

The forms themselves are preferably provided with foraminous bottoms, as shown at c in Fig. 2, and these foraminous bottoms may be conveniently made of rather course mesh wire cloth.

In their progress through the machine the forms C pass first beneath a feed chute E through which the prepared fibrous material is supplied, the opening from the chute being so arranged that the supply of material will be gaged to fill the forms in succession and provide a small surplus so as to insure a sufficient quantity in each form to permit of proper subsequent distribution, condensing and formation of the upper surface. There maybe provided, if so desired, a gate F beneath which the material passes as the forms are fed forwardly, which gate may be adjustable or spring pressed, as

1O adjacent the ate F and pre erably having I than is necessary for the purposes stated.

shown, and will serve .as a cut-off for preventing the feeding of more of the material As the forms pass beyond the feed chute and gate the material is subjected to the action of a succession of tampers or distributers which will also operate to intertangle the fibers and condense the mass. The tampers are preferably reciprocator the first tamper G operatin immed ate y its operative ace formed by a series of ribs or ridges g extendin in the direction of the feed of the material, as will be readily understood from inspection of figures 5 and v5. The third tamper G has its operative face plane, as shown in Fig. 7, while the second tamper G has its operative face formed by a multiplicity of teeth 9. The teeth may be conveniently formed so as to give the material either a forward, a backward, or a transverse pressure or distr1bu tion, depending upon the nature of the material employed, and the character of the board desired. In any event the tampers serve not only to distribute and even up the material in the forms, but also to condense and thoroughly intertangle the fibers while still in a very moist or wet condition. They also serve m a measure to discharge the water from the fiber downwardly through the foraminous bottom of the forms. The tampers may all be mounted on eccentrics G carried by suitable shafts adapted to be rotated by pulley and belt connections G with a pulley on a countershaft G The counter shaft G is driven by pulley and belt connection G extending to a pulley on terial contained in the forms and edges-of the forms themselves. This pressure cylinder I is of suflicient weight to compress the material into the forms and to squeeze out a certain percenta e of the water. It is preferably provide with a foraminous periphery I, Fig. 4, which foraminous periphery is'of less diameter at the center than at the edges, whereby the top of the material is crowned upwardly at the center and portions at the edges of the forms pressed in wardly and downwardly so as to give, the material a well rounded shape.

By making the periphery of the pressure roller or cylinder foraminous, the excess water in the material mayescape up into the cylinder and flow off through the ends of the cylinder, as well as through the bottom of I the foraminous forms. By this provision a very large proportion of the excess water ma be eliminated.

fter passing beneath the pressure cylinder the forms are allowed totravel a considerable distance before the material is again acted upon, during which time the Water has ample time to drain away, leaving the fiber in a fairly compact and moisturefreed condition. In this condition it is passed beneath a second pressure roller K which is preferably mounted in adjustable bearings andv has a flat'face which travels directly upon or in immediate proximity to the upper edges of the forms, whereby the fibrous material will be further pressed into the forms and its top portion left in a substantially fiat condition.

Owing to the character of the material acted upon and its elastic nature it is impossible to shape the to surface properly for the finished board y means such as that hereinbefore referred to' and with the object of providing means for shapin or smoothing the top surface, and also 0 reducing the material in the forms to a umform thickness, there is provided in the present machine a cutter which will sever and remove from the surface of the material all portions which project above a height which corresponds to the thickness of the board desired, usually defined by the sides of the forms. This cutter is preferably in the form of a planer head L mounted on a shaft to rotate immediately above the forms,

there being provided a guard or hood M for conducting the cuttings ofif to one \side of the machine. The cutter head L is driven at high speed by a belt 1 extending to a ulley Z on the drive shaft G the speed eing such as to insure the cutting away of the surplus material without disturbing or tearing the underlying fibers apart, thus the boards as they merge from the cutter will present a true surface, which will not I necessarily require further. finishing.

For driving the feeder D, the shaft of pulley d at the inner end of the feeder may be belted to a small pulley 0Z journaled in the frame belowthe ways, and the pulley d may be driven by a belt (i from the drive shaft G, the arrangement being preferably such that the feeder will be given a relatively slow but powerful movement for ad vancing the forms through the machines.

In,order to catch the water discharged and draining away from the fibrous material under treatment, a long water pan N is provided in the bottom of the frame which water pan may have a central discharge at N.

With a machine such as herein described 7 I the manual labor required is reduced to a minimum, practically the only duties of the attendants being. to place the forms in position at the entering end and to remove the filled forms at the discharge end of the machine. In operation the material gravitates through the supply chute, a proper gaged quantity being admitted to the forms as they successively pass beneath the chute. Each form in succession passes beneath the tampers, and the material therein is thoroughly intertangled and distributed uniformly toall parts of the form. Further progress of the forms brings the material beneath the foraminous pressure cylinder by which surplus water is squeezedout and the upper surface of the material given a rounded shape. In this condition the material is fed forwardly and allowed time to drain before passing beneath the final pressure cylinder; by which the surface is brought down into a substantially flat condition, and finally the forms pass beneath the rotary cutter, by which all surplus material is removed and the mass remaining in the forms reduced to a uniform thickness.

What I claim is 1. In an organized machine for manufacturing insulating boards of fibrous material carrying an excess of water, the combination with the ways, removable foraminous forms adapted to travel on the ways, and means for propelling the forms along the ways, of a supply chute opening into the forms on the ways, means for gaging the quantity of material supplied to each form from the chute, a succession of tampers adapted to cooperate with the material in the forms to distribute and intertangle the fibers, and a pressure roller cooperating with the upper surface of the material in the forms subsequent to the action of the tampers thereon, there being space below the forms for the escape of water from the forms during the tamping and pressing of the fiber.

2. In an organized machine for manufacturing insulating boards of fibrous material carrying an eXcess of water, the combination with the ways, removable f0- raminous forms adapted to travel on the ways, there being space below the forms for the escape of water and means for propelling the forms along the ways, of a supply chute opening into the forms on the ways, means for gaging the quantity of material supplied to each form from the chute, a succession of tampers cooperating with the material in the forms to distribute and interlock the fibrous material while the water is escaping from the forms, and a pressure roller having a foraminous periphery cooperating with the distributed material in the forms.

3. In an organized machine for manufacturing insulating boards of fibrous material, carrying an excess of water, the com- &

bination with the ways, removable foraminous bottom forms adapted to travel on the ways, there being space below the forms for the escape of water and means for propelling the forms along the ways, of a supply chute opening into the forms on the ways, means for gaging the quantity of material supplied to each form from the chute, tampers cooperating with the materialin the forms to distribute and interlock the fibrous material, and means for applying pressure to the material to discharge excess moisture therefrom after the fiber has been distributed by the tampers.

4. In an organized machine for manufacturing insulating boards of fibrous material carrying an excess of water, the combination with the ways, removable foraminous forms adapted to travel on the ways, means for supplying fibrous material to and distributing the same in the forms on the ways there being space below the forms for the escape of water, and means for pressing said material down into the forms, of a cutter for cutting off the surplus distributed and pressed fibrous material from the top of the forms and reducing the material to a uniform thickness.

5. In an organized machine for manufacturing insulating boards of fibrous material carryingan excess of water, the combination I with the ways, removable foraminous forms adapted to travel on the ways, and means for supplying material to and distributing the same in the forms on the ways there being spaces between the ways for the escape of water, of a rotary cutter located above the forms for cutting off surplus material and reducing the material to a uniform thickness in the forms. 7

6. In an organized machine for manufacturing insulating boards of fibrous mater al, the combination with the ways, foraminous form s adapted to travel on the ways, and means for supplying material to and distributing the same in the forms on the ways, of means for discharging excess moisture from the material, and a rotary cutter located above the forms in position to cut away the surplus fibrous material after excess moisture is discharged therefrom.

7. In a machine for manufacturing insulating boards of fibrous material, the combination with the ways, foraminous forms adapted to travel on the ways, means for supplying wet fibrous material to the forms and reciprocatory tampers for distributing the Wet material in the forms, of a pressure cylinder for pressing down the material, and a cutter for severing the surplus material from the top of the material in the forms after the escape of the excess water. g

8. In a machine for manufacturing insulating boards of fibrous material, the combination with the ways, foraminous forms bination With the ways, forms a of a rotary cutter head overlying the forms and operating to cut off the surplus and reduce the material to a uniform thickness after the material is partially dried.

9. In a machine for manufacturing insulating boards of fibrous material the comdapted to travel on the ways, means for supplying wet fibrous material to the forms, and reciprocatory tampers for distributing and condensing the material in the forms, of a pressure cylinder resting on the material in the 4 forms and having a foramlnous periphery of less diameter at the center than at the edges, and means for subsequently reducing the height of the material at the center of the forms.

Witnesses:

O. N. DEAN, J. H. BRACKEN.

ALFRED G. BROWN. 

